With the last first nine weeks of their senior year, Class of 2022 was asked to put in their two cents
about their journey at Spain Park so far, any advice they would give, and their experience with only having one “normal” year of high school, the rest being impacted in some way by COVID-19. While all our current classes have experienced the hardships at Spain Park brought by COVID, current seniors are the only ones who got to experience a full year at the high school without its influence. This survey given out to the seniors asked about this experience, tips to underclassmen, and other questions. Anyone who was not comfortable providing their name has been named “Anonymous” for their responses. Note that this survey brought in vast responses; these are only some of them!
What is one class you wish you took (or didn't take) at Spain Park?
“I wish I didn’t take Anatomy, it was my absolute worst class.” - Cadon B.
“I wish I took Human Geography.” - Grace N. and Camille C.
“I wish I didn’t take so many APs.” - Anonymous
“I regret taking AP Chemistry” - Anonymous
“I wish I took AP Psychology. I would have loved to learn all I could about the makeup of the mind and make one of those styrofoam heads with the diagram of the different parts of the brain”. - Lindsey A.
What was it like having your freshman year being the only year not impacted by COVID?
“Oddly it felt kind of life closure, but it also felt like half of my high school experience and two years of my life were just wiped away” - Anonymous
“I feel kind of cheated out of my high school experience. I always looked forward to high school as a kid and it’s supposed to be a really great time of your life. With quarantine and staggered schedules and masks, I really miss freshman year. I’m really glad I got that one normal year so I kind of had a traditional experience at least once.” - Olivia M.
“The stress levels were a lot lower pre-covid.”- Anonymous
“It’s hard knowing all the things that you’re missing out on. The freshman, sophomores , and juniors are used to this. They don’t know any differently, but we got to see what it was like before COVID. It was a different environment back then. There are some perks to living with COVID, but there’s also some lost experiences. I try not to dwell on it too much and be appreciative of what we get to do.” - Jayla H.
“I am not cringe, so it was fine. People who complain are just cringe” - Anonymous (This was one of my personal favorite responses if I am being honest)
What piece of advice would you give to current underclassmen?
“Get out of your comfort zone and don’t hesitate to try new things” - Saibri R.
“Just chill and play it cool. High school is tough, but you can get the hang of it. Don’t worry about stuff that doesn’t matter like popularity” - Aadi P.
“Not everything is about grades - it is possible to make good grades and also have a life.” - Lily G.
“Do your homework, work hard for grades, but don’t stress over a grade just because it’s not an A.” - Anonymous
What is something you wish you knew as a freshman?
“You will lose friends that you thought would be in your life forever, but it makes you stronger.”
- Cadon B.
“Know what you stand for and WHY you stand for it” - Anonymous
“I wish I knew how to appropriately study for my classes. As a freshman I would do way too much work that was completely unnecessary. As long as you’re engaged with the class, there’s no need to do a complete deep dive into the material for a 50 point test. However, that could just be the senioritis talking…” - Olivia M.
“GPA is not as important as mental health “ - Mary W.
What are you most looking forward to in your last year of high school?
“Getting to have more free time that I used to spend stressing over classes” - Anonymous
“I’m looking forward to hearing about where everyone is going after high school. We’ve grown up together. Some of us have known each other since kindergarten. It will be interesting to see where everyone ends up.” - Jayla H.
“School dances/events” - Anonymous
“Graduating” (This was the majority of responses, and as a fellow senior I definitely agree!)
